I have no idea where to begin...
Literally.
I look back on my life since my last entry and I don't know how to bring everyone up to speed.
So...you know what I'm going to do?
(What Jason?)
Streamline. I'm going to hit the high points and hit them hard.
So...Elizabeth is out. Thomas is in.
My roommate of 2 years (and friend from Atlanta), Elizabeth, moved out last month. She got a great apartment in the Hamiltion Heights area (still in Manhattan, just more to the West side and a little further up the island). Her boyfriend, Nathan, arrived this month and the two are shacking up together.
My new roommate, Thomas, is a great 20 year old kid who works part-time at The Container Store. He's a full-time student and besides working with me, he also holds down another part-time job. At 32 I never would've thought of myself as "getting old" but, wow, being around him reminds me of what it was like to be in my early 20's - when burning the candle at both ends seems to be the only way to make it shine.
I recently got to get back to my Peachtree roots. I got an invitation to go to Toronto to take part in the International Reading Association's annual conference. It was great to be back with my book family and seeing a lot of familiar faces coming down the aisles of the trade show floor. It took me back.
The only crazy aspect of the whole event was having to have a passport to travel to Canada. That's a new twist to traveling. I had to have mine "hand delivered" to the tune of $200 on top of the $130 it cost to expedite the process. I have A LOT of opinions about the whole reasoning behind the regulations. I'm not going to take up space here...I will suffice it to say that I think it's all bullshit. I continue to grow more and more and more disheartened with the Government of the United States. The half-hearted explanation to my question as to why I would need a passport to go into Canada by plane and not by car or train, was simply, "Oh, 9/11." If that were really true...
No, I said I wouldn't rant right now. I won't.
Back in NYC...the weekend after getting back from Toronto I took part in my 10th year walking in the AIDS Walk (8 years in Atlanta and 2 years in NYC). I walked the 10k with my pals from The Container Store ("Organized in the fight Against AIDS"). It was a beautiful day - from start to finish.
During all of this...Antuan was rocking it in the off-Broadway musical, In The Heights. Since joining the cast I think I've seen the show 6 times. Even if he wasn't in the show I would be supporting the show. It is an incredible celebration of the lives and dreams of a corner in Washington Heights.
If you haven't already, visit: www.intheheightsthemusical.com
The show has been nominated and has won almost all of the major off-Broadway awards. I was thrilled to be backstage with Antuan and the cast at the Manhattan Theater Club's gala when word reached everyone that the show had won an award for Best Musical. The energy was in the air as the cast exploded in celebration. The kids have worked so hard and it is wonderful to see such a positive show rewarded.
Afterwards in the penthouse of the Hilton hotel off Times Square, we got to meet movers and shakers from all across the theater community. I had to pinch myself as I looked at the windows...standing beside Alison Janney (from TV's The West Wing) and the cast of Spring Awakening (who just won the TONY this year for Best Musical). Lots of my favorite theater actors were milling around talking shop...it was great.
The next night, my friend Joshua, invited me to the Opening Night performance of the play, Radio Golf. It was my first Opening Night and we had a great time - both at the play and at the party at Bond 45 (where we hung out with Phyliscia Rashad and one of my theater idols, Tonya Pinkins).
At the end of last month and the beginning of June, I joined Peachtree Publishers again...this time here in NYC for Book Expo America. This trade show is the BIGGEST within the publishing community. No books are sold...publishers spend thousands, giving away books and talking with booksellers/bookstores in hopes that the word of mouth will trickle back to the masses and the books they've worked so hard on will fly off the shelves.
Last week I hoes my first NYC TONY party. Several of my theater-savy co-workers (and my friend Scott from Atlanta), piled into my little apartment to watch and cheer on our favorite shows and performers. It was excited to watch the awards this year...having seen almost all of the shows in their home theaters.
And...last night...Broadway Bares 17. Last year I got to attend my first Broadway Bares (a charity fundraiser featuring over 200 of the theater community's best in a night of glitzy burlesque) and last night I was back, this time with Antuan. It was a lot of fun getting to share the evening with someone...especially someone who is a dancer. He doesn't just watched people dance...or observe the beautiful choreography, he absorbs it. His face lit up with magic that was displayed on the stage.
Last year the theme was New York Strip...with an emphasis on strip. This year the theme was Myth Behavior. A sexy evening mixing Broadway with Greek mythology. It was a fun, fun evening and hopefully next year will have Antuan up there taking part in the festivities.
Ok...I think I'm done with my update. I don't want to sign off without celebrating that May 1st marked my 3 year anniversary as a New Yorker. People always ask if I love living here...my reply is always the same, "You'd have to love it." No lives here "just 'cause." Living here isn't just "ok".
Photos to follow...celebrating all of the above.
